Jenny's Gallery#13: JW/AN/DE/IN/Leo-Katepg 146 - Page 48

Tonight I can write the happiest lines. We are the ODI world champions. On Saturday at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, we regained the World Cup after a gap of 28 years.

The triumph highlighted the power of the collective team effort. Who would have imagined Team India chasing down a target of 275 with 10 balls to spare, with almost negligible contributions from Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar?

As for skipper MS Dhoni, I can only say, cometh the hour, cometh the man. Let us accept this, once and for all: the man has the Midas touch. We can debate for ages whether he should have played Sreesanth or not. And I know that everybody would have castigated him for promoting himself above the in-form Yuvraj Singh. The point is, like any good leader, MSD takes a decision and then stick to it. If he manages to get the right result every time, who are we to question him. Like any true leader, Dhoni always leads from the front. He is forthright and honest. That's what makes him special. Now he has won every prize in cricket. Surely, India is blessed to have a skipper like him.

What was special about our team? Self-belief, for one. During the entire tournament, Team India kept the faith. Many of us despaired after we lost the toss under controversial circumstances. Many of us felt that 275 was a hard, if not impossible, target. Not the Men in Blue. They achieved the goal with calm and poise. Every run was hard fought but they never seemed to panic.

Each of the players who had not scored heavily in the earlier games came to the party on Saturday. Dhoni played the most special innings of his career. It will be compared with the great Steve Waugh innings of the 1999 semi-final against South Africa. Gambhir would always rue the shot he played to get out for 97 but the nation would always remember his innings as among the most valuable in the history of Indian cricket. Even young Kohli fared well.

All our bowlers, barring Sreesanth, did a fantastic job till the 46th over. Then they lost the plot in the last four overs conceding 54 runs. The odds were perhaps 55-45 in favour of the Lankans at that stage. And 70-30 when the openers got out. But then Team India had other ideas.

There is much more to write and comment on. This was Yuvraj Singh's championship. He proved that winners never quit and that quitters never win. May be in a couple of days, I will write a performance report of every player. Right now, let us just enjoy the moment. This is one of my happiest moments as an Indian. I know it is yours too.